NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Cliches may grate like nails on a chalkboard, but one person's cliche is another's sliced bread

  • Written by Kirk Hazen, Professor of Linguistics, West Virginia University
imageWhen overrused phrases reach the point of aggravation, they become cliches.yongyuan/iStock/Getty Images Plus

If some words are shovel-ready for a conversation, but using them could lead to accusations that you’re not giving 110%, then should you stick a pin in them? Or perhaps you could read the room better and send thoughts and prayers to...

Read more: Cliches may grate like nails on a chalkboard, but one person's cliche is another's sliced bread

More Articles ...

  1. When and how was walking invented?
  2. What the 'spiritual but not religious' have in common with radical Protestants of 500 years ago
  3. How AI is hijacking art history
  4. How to meet America’s climate goals: 5 policies for Biden’s next climate bill
  5. The FDA authorizes Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 – a pediatrician explains how the drug was tested for safety and efficacy
  6. Why taxing US billionaires’ wealth – as Biden tried to do – will never work
  7. A Catholic theologian argues for a death row inmate's right to have the pastor's touch in the execution chamber
  8. Less than 2% of all US giving supports women's and girls' charities
  9. Breast cancer awareness campaigns can do a better job supporting women who've received a stage 4 diagnosis, instead of focusing only on early detection and 'beating cancer'
  10. How to help kids with 'long COVID' thrive in school
  11. Antibiotic resistance is at a crisis point – government support for academia and Big Pharma to find new drugs could help defeat superbugs
  12. Steve Bannon is held in criminal contempt of Congress, pushing key question over presidential power to the courts
  13. How much longer will major league baseball stay in the closet?
  14. 10 tips to prevent or escape a house fire
  15. 10 fire safety tips to help keep you and your kids alive and safe
  16. Nearly half of all churches and other faith institutions help people get enough to eat
  17. New research suggests cat and dog 'moms' and 'dads' really are parenting their pets – here's the evolutionary explanation why
  18. State spending on anti-poverty programs could substantially reduce child abuse and neglect
  19. What's a 'miracle'? Here's how the Catholic Church decides
  20. The erosion of Roe v. Wade and abortion access didn't begin in Texas or Mississippi – it started in Pennsylvania in 1992
  21. What Big Oil knew about climate change, in its own words
  22. How commercialization over the centuries transformed the Day of the Dead
  23. College cost calculators aren't precise, but they could easily be made better
  24. In Biden's visit with the pope, a page from Reagan's playbook?
  25. Climate change is muting fall colors, but it's just the latest way that humans have altered US forests
  26. Why student absences aren't the real problem in America's 'attendance crisis'
  27. A quick guide to climate change jargon – what experts mean by mitigation, carbon neutral and 6 other key terms
  28. What did billions in aid to Afghanistan accomplish? 5 questions answered
  29. The pandemic has made it even harder for one in three Americans to obtain healthy, affordable food
  30. From Black Death to COVID-19, pandemics have always pushed people to honor death and celebrate life
  31. Supreme Court rulings always include the perspective of a white male, but often exclude viewpoints of Black and Latina justices
  32. 4 key issues to watch as world leaders prepare for the Glasgow climate summit
  33. Type of ultraviolet light most effective at killing coronavirus is also the safest to use around people
  34. 4 key issues to watch as world leaders gather for the Glasgow climate summit
  35. Kids with obesity need acceptance from family and friends, not just better diet tips, to succeed at managing their weight
  36. A new way to organize cancer mutations could lead to better treatment matches for patients
  37. What causes ADHD and can it be cured?
  38. How ethnic and religious divides in Afghanistan are contributing to violence against minorities
  39. Why do colleges use legacy admissions? 5 questions answered
  40. Studying political science motivates college students to register and vote – new research shows
  41. Girls learn early that they don't have much of a place in politics
  42. An infectious disease expert explains new federal rules on 'mix-and-match' vaccine booster shots
  43. Hollywood's love of guns increases the risk of shootings – both on and off the set
  44. Parents were fine with sweeping school vaccination mandates five decades ago – but COVID-19 may be a different story
  45. The future of work is hybrid – here's an expert's recommendations for success
  46. The future of work is hybrid – here's an expert's recommendations
  47. Trump wants the National Archives to keep his papers away from investigators – post-Watergate laws and executive orders may not let him
  48. The horse bit and bridle kicked off ancient empires – a new giant dataset tracks the societal factors that drove military technology
  49. Extreme rain heads for California's wildfire burn scars, raising risk of mudslides – this is what cascading climate disasters look like
  50. Evacuations ordered as a powerful storm heads for California's wildfire burn scars, raising risk of mudslides – this is what cascading climate disasters look like